THE PRESIDENTIAL election scenery remained unclear yesterday, with
President Glafcos Clerides tight-lipped on whether he would seek re-
election amid reports he was coming under pressure from all sides to do so.

DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades repeated yesterday that he did not know what
Clerides was thinking and suggested patience until mid-January by when
presidential hopefuls must officially submit their candidacy.

Reports, however, claimed that Clerides was under pressure to seek re-
election from Greece, the British and the Americans, as well as his own
DISY, as he was viewed as the most suitable to negotiate a settlement of
the Cyprus problem and sign an agreement.

The other potential candidate whose name has been floated, Attorney-general
Alecos Markides, followed Clerides' example and refused to disclose his
thoughts concerning the elections.

Surveys have found that Markides would have a clear lead over the strongest
contender in the elections, DIKO leader Tasos Papadopoulos.

But yesterday he said that he would not base his decision on whether to run
or not on opinion polls.

Markides declined to hint about his thoughts, saying any potential
candidate had first to consider whether they felt they could contribute to
the future of the country.

"We will talk soon, and do not take me for granted, because all these
reports (about running) are based on the thoughts of journalists."

"They do not come from me," Markides added.

He said the reports were not based on discussion with those involved and
the logic used to draw conclusions may not match the logic of the people
actually involved.

The continuing uncertainty did not stop the exchange of barbs between
opposing camps yesterday.

Anastassiades accused DIKO and AKEL of not responding to DISY's call for a
government of national unity, proving that the two parties were only
interested in climbing to power.

Anastassiades said DIKO had responded to his call for unity, by saying, "no,
we will share power only with AKEL and those who will support us" in the
elections.

He said Papadopoulos had only now, because of the elections, remembered the
existence of Turkish Cypriots, adding his party had been in contact with
Turkish Cypriot parties since 1977.

Referring to comments by AKEL spokesman Nicos Katsourides, who accused DISY
of being against rapprochement, Anastassiades said: "Let him and his
candidate show how many times he met with Turkish Cypriots, apart from in
the past two months."

Papadopoulos said it had become clear that those who knew they would lose
the elections were trying to find ways to avert them, adding that their
anxiety to keep power at any cost was only too obvious.

THE government said yesterday it was closely watching developments at the
British bases, which are reportedly gearing up for a possible US-led war on
Iraq early in the New Year.

Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said developments on the island
and in the greater region were being "monitored very carefully", following
reports that the bases had been put on high alert.

Bases spokesman Tony Brumwell told the Cyprus News Agency yesterday that
there was no increased alert and that everything was "completely normal".
However, he admitted that some precautionary measures were under way in
case of a conflict.

Brumwell said the Bases had on Sunday received supplies of vehicles,
vehicle trailers and some ammunition, which would be stored for the time
being.

"At the moment, there are going to be stored, we can't say whether there
will be used for training, operations or not at all", Brumwell said.

He said that a British High Commission spokesman had notified the Cyprus
Ministry of Defence about the arrival of these supplies, "out of courtesy".

Brumwell rubbished press reports that the Bases had increased the number of
fighter planes and helicopters on site.

"We couldn't hide a build up of aircraft like that," he said.

"There is only one aircraft at Akrotiri at the moment."

Asked about the role of the Bases in a possible attack against Iraq,
Brumwell said, "no decision has been taken to make any sort of attack"
against Iraq, adding that the Bases had not so far been told by the British
government to prepare for any specific role.

"So what we got to do is begin to plan what that role might be. The role
could be very diverse, it could be supporting operations, it could be
logistics", Brumwell said.

"We are doing this planning, we take some precaution, in case we are
asked."

THE Central Bank could reconsider certain provisions concerning penalties
on those who bounce cheques while the date for implementing new rules
regarding post-dated cheques could be pushed even further.

New rules on bounced cheques were scheduled to come into force on January 2,
2003, but implementation was pushed back a month following a request by the
House Finance Committee.

Provisions concerning post-dated cheques were pushed back even further to
July 1, 2003.

Central Bank Governor Christodoulos Christodoulou said yesterday that a
final decision on the matter would be taken on January 20.

Speaking after a meeting with members of the House Finance and Legal
Affairs Committees, Christodoulou said there could be some changes in the
rules but the philosophy and structure of the law would remain unaltered.

He added that the February 1 deadline was "final", while a further
extension of three months would be considered for post-dated cheques.

"I will look into the possibility of an extension; they have suggested
October 1 instead of July 1 but it could be Septmber 1 instead of October,"
Christodoulou said.

The introduction of the new rules effectively puts an end to the practice
of issuing post-dated cheques, as banks will now be able cash them upon
presentation, irrespective of the date.

The planned blacklist is designed to reinforce the credibility of cheques
by barring cheque bouncers from issuing any further cheques.

Before anyone can get blacklisted, their cheque must remain unpaid for at
least seven days after it is first presented for payment at any bank or co-
op.

The drawer's name is then placed on a preliminary list, giving another
chance for settlement.

If the cheque is paid at this stage, the issuer's name will remain on the
preliminary list, though it will not be placed on the blacklist.

The moment anyone gets blacklisted, banks will freeze all their current
accounts and inform them to stop writing cheques and hand in their
chequebook within 10 days.

Anyone on the list cannot open a new current account until their name is
removed after a mandatory period of five years.

Yesterday, Christodoulou said he had heard suggestions concerning the
severity of the penalties as well as the seven-days grace period given to a
drawer to settle the cheque.

He said the period could be increased to 15 or 20 days, but added all
decisions would be made on January 20, and any changes published before the
end of the month.

TAXPAYERS have forked out around £161 million since 1993 for the
maintenance of the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) on the
island, a study revealed yesterday.

According to the study, prepared by the director of the Cyprus Centre of
Strategic Studies Aristos Aristotelous, the upkeep of UNFICYP in the nine
years since 1993 added up to around £486.4 million, with Cyprus and Greece
chipping in 45.2 per cent of the total cost.

Since 1993, when Cyprus decided voluntarily to contribute one-third of the
cost of maintenance of the force, taxpayers have paid approximately £161.5
million.

Greece has contributed around £58 million since 1993.

The cost of UNFICYP between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002 was £42.4
million -- £13.6 million paid by Cyprus and £6.5 million by Greece, the
study said.

The cost was £1.4 million higher than the previous year.

Preliminary estimates indicated that 23 per cent of the amount covered the
costs of employing civilian personnel, 18 per cent went to operational
expenses, and 55 per cent towards military personnel.

A further four per cent was spent on various other overheads.

The study noted that UNFICYP was a mission that used only a small
percentage - 1.5 per cent - of the total budget allocated by the UN for
peacekeeping in 2001-2002.

A COMPROMISE deal was thrashed out yesterday between the government and
angry potato growers, to be awarded £4.25 million in compensation for
weather damage to their crops.

The decision was announced by Commerce Minister Nicos Rolandis, following a
meeting of the Cabinet yesterday.

The decision came a week after behind-the-scenes negotiations between
farmers' associations, unions and the government, and 10 days after potato
growers blocked access to Larnaca airport in a show of force. Last Monday,
the government moved to defuse tensions, agreeing to pay out £1 million in
immediate relief aid.

In addition to the £4.25 million compensation to potato growers, the rest
of the agricultural community would be receiving £6 million, Agriculture
Minister Costas Themistocleous said yesterday. Themistocleous added that
the cash would be made available as soon as possible.

Overall, the compensation would amount to a cash payment of around £500-
£600 per family.

For his part, Rolandis said the sum should be considered "satisfactory."
But the Cabinet's decision came under fire from trade union SEK, saying the
compensation was inadequate and late in coming. Last week, farmers
associations were floating a £5.6 million figure.

SEK general secretary Costas Constantinides was particularly critical of
the fact that £250,000 pounds of the potato growers' compensation would
come from their social security fund, according to the Cabinet's decision,
which Constantinides dismissed as "predictable".

He went on to lash out at the government for its delayed response to the
plight of the farming community, which led to the takeover of Larnaca
airport.

"Although we do not condone such actions, nevertheless it could all have
been averted if the government had listened to the farmers early on," said
Constantinides.

In the wake of the mayhem caused at the airport, national carrier Cyprus
Airways also asked for compensation from the government; the figure cited
was around half a million pounds. But yesterday the Cabinet issued a
laconic statement: CY would be receiving no damages payout.

The Cabinet has said it will be reconvening again in early January to
review the situation; the farming community claims that, despite the cash
payments, it is still in dire straits. Last year's damages to crops have
been coupled by more destruction by freak hailstorms this winter.